Agenda item

Review of Affordable Workspaces in the Lewes District (End Users)

In order to understand what the Council can do better to support
creative businesses, the Panel has invited representatives from the
following organisations to attend this meeting and contribute to
the review:

·Making Lewes;

·Phoenix Rising; and

·Devonshire Collective.

Minutes:

In
order to understand what the Council could do better to support
creative businesses, the panel invited representatives from the
following organisations to attend this meeting and contribute to
the review:

·Lewes phoenix Rising;

·Making Lewes; and

·Devonshire Collective.

Prior to the meeting, the
following set of questions were circulated to the
invitees:

Could you please
provide us with an overview of your area of work?

What other networks
do you collaborate with?

According to your
network, what is meant by affordable workspace?

Could you please
describe the workspace needs – including specialist
equipment, tenancy agreement and size, of creative
businesses?

What are the barriers
for creative businesses looking to start-up or explain in the Lewes
District?

What business support
do creative enterprises need?

What business support
services are you aware of for your business in the Lewes District
and how effective are they, in particular for creative
businesses?

If anyone in your
network has ever used commercial property databases to search for
affordable workspace and creative workspaces in the Lewes District,
which ones and how effective were they?

Could you please
provide us with a list of known affordable workspaces and creative
workspaces in the Lewes District to help us map the current
supply?

Lewes
Phoenix Rising

In preparation for the meeting,
Lewes Phoenix Rising had conducted a survey during September which
focused on the workspace needs of those creative industries in and
around Lewes Town. The survey was distributed via the Lewes Phoenix
Rising email list (1,500 recipients) and Lewes Phoenix Rising
social media (760 followers). The survey had 100 completed
responses and the results have been incorporated into the answers
below. A copy of the presentation will be uploaded alongside the
minutes.

Could
you please provide us with an overview of your area of
work?

Lewes Phoenix Rising was a
development company set up by local people working to secure
genuinely affordable homes and workspaces in Lewes.

According to your network, what was meant by affordable
workspace?

Most survey respondents were
looking to pay less than £7.50 per square feet per annum for
space which fit their specification (see answer below) – and
typically needed less than 250 square feet.

Could
you please describe the workspace needs of creative
businesses?

Various sizes were needed
depending on the craft which ranged from sculptors, 3-D designers
and jewellery makers to performance artists. The survey results
highlighted that the priority was for a basic, insulated space with
utilities, parking, ground floor access and good security.
Daylight, shared machinery, communal areas and the potential for
configuring spaces to the businesses individual were also
important. The majority of respondents sought to work within 2
miles of home – but would travel further for affordable
workspaces.

What
were the barriers for creative businesses looking to start-up or
expand in Lewes District?

The lack of available
workspaces which provided a cross section of industries working
together and allowed for networking opportunities;

The lack of
short-term and flexible rental opportunities;

The shortage of basic
concrete spaces which allowed for the more ‘messy’
creative businesses to have a space to work; and

That the farm houses
and barns that some businesses were investing in had no planning
permission so there was no certainty for their future.

Had
anyone in your network ever used commercial property databases to
search for affordable workspace and creative workspaces in the
Lewes District?

16% of survey respondents had
used agents and databases to find workspaces, but most of the
results were not suitable due to space/cost. This low success rate
was seen as a reflection of the lack of suitable properties
available rather than the search mechanism.

What
business support do creative enterprises need?

Chelsea stressed the importance
of regarding creative businesses as jobs rather than hobbies; for a
majority of the creative businesses within Lewes Phoenix
Rising’s network the end goal was financial gain, and
therefore the business support needed was for practical advice such
as business rates.

What
business support services are you aware of for your business in the
Lewes District and how effective are they, in particular for
creative businesses?

Whilst they were aware of the
South East Creative Economy Network, this was not used
widely.

Was
digital connectivity seen as a priority?

The importance of digital
connectivity varied throughout the creative industry.

Further suggestions arising for the panel’s consideration
included:

·That the Council supports rural diversification and
actively helps farmers to allow their disused buildings to be
rented out as affordable workspaces; and

That the
Councilevaluates empty buildings within the District and considers
making these spaces available to the creative sector, whether that
would be on a long-term or short-term contract.

Making Lewes

Could
you please provide us with an overview of your area of
work?

Making Lewes was a community
organisation that promoted the exchange of knowledge in the fields
of Making, Architecture, Design and Sustainability.

According to your network, what is meant by affordable
workspace?

Low cost accommodation for the
creative industries that competes with the open market.

Could
you please describe the workspace needs of creative
businesses?

An ideal workspace for creative
business is a makerspace – also known as a fab lab, or
hackerspace, which allowed people with common interests to work in
the same building, socialise, collaborate and ultimately build a
community.

What
were the barriers for creative businesses looking to start-up or
expand in Lewes District?

Finance was a key barrier for
start-ups in Lewes District, and often equipment which brings
visions to life or allowed them to expand their businesses was too
expensive. A makerspace would be effective in solving this problem
because it would provide shared technology/equipment.

Had
anyone in your network ever used Locate East Sussex to search for
affordable workspace and creative workspaces in the Lewes
District?

Locate East Sussex was helpful
for bigger businesses but it did not engage with smaller businesses
or provide alternative paces such as disused barns.

Further suggestions arising for the panel’s consideration
included:

That Santon should
consult with end users of the creative workspace planned for North
Street Quarter prior to design, to ensure that the market has an
input, and ensures the space created would be useful to the
creative industry.

That the Council
provides more information regarding what additional services were
available to businesses that formerly resided in North Street
Quarter and are still seeking affordable workspaces following the
end of their contracts.

Devonshire Collective

Could
you please provide us with an overview of your area of
work?

Devonshire Collective was a
creative and cultural hub in Devonshire Ward, Eastbourne with
studios, makerspaces, workshops, gallery and café for the
benefit of artists, community members and the wider
public.

According to your network, what is meant by affordable
workspace?

Good value (cheaper than what
was commercially available); flexible; provides shared resources
such as kitchen and toilet facilities; Wi-Fi enabled; allows
short-term rental opportunities and break clauses to
leases.

Could
you please describe the workspace needs of creative
businesses?

·Access to funding opportunities and
signposting

·Business support activities including
business planning and book-keeping

·Marketing and awareness

·Communication and dialogue with
like-businesses/network support

·‘Beacon’ businesses which
offer examples of best-practice

·Awareness of statutory
responsibilities

·Access to training

·‘Kick-start’ support; payment
‘holidays’; support with cash flow

What
were the challenges/successes of Devonshire Collective?

Challenges

Successes

·Capacity

·Engagement with local
residents

·Turnover of artists and
residents

·Location and reputation of
Seaside

·Sustainable resourcing/allocation of
resources

·Lack of dedicated EBC officer
support

·Engagement beyond Devonshire
ward

·(Historic) Relationship with
Towner

·Competition (both café and
community centre space)

·Scale/viability of spaces

·Split sites

·Multi-cultural audiences

·Long-term planning and advance
promotion

·Dealing with inexperienced
businesses

·Varied and well-recognised
programme

·Work experience and college
placements

·Extensive volunteer network

·Guest Curators programme

·Regional media attention

·Near-full work space component

·Some sell out events at DC1

·Attracting inward investment and business
development in Seaside

Could
a project such as the Devonshire Collective work in the Lewes
District?

Whilst no areas in the Lewes
District were similar to Devonshire Ward, a potential area for a
similar project could be Newhaven. Due to the transient population
of Devonshire Ward, it was easier to sustain grants which helped
with cash flow for the project – but this may not be the case
if a similar project was undertaken in Lewes.

If
Lewes District were to begin a project such as the Devonshire
Collective, what would you advise be done differently?

A 5 year plan instead
of 3 year plan to accommodate the long term needs of the
businesses, raising awareness for the project, and engagement with
local residents;

More consideration
for the workspace sizes and locations; bigger units would allow for
workshops or classes which could add an additional revenue
opportunity for the project; and

A dedicated arts
development officer for additional support.

Further suggestions arising for the panel’s consideration
included:

That Lewes as a hub
for craft based tourism be considered as
a viable investment for the Council.